Coord Help

Initial test version

IMPORTANT

This test version of Coord requires a Live set that adheres to the following guidlines.

These guidelines are temporary. They restrict focus to functionality that will become more general based on tester feedback. They are not meant to imply how a Live set (or any composition) should be normally structured. The Live example sets that are provided can be used as templates.

The song must have a time signature of 4/4 or 2/4. This version does not support 3/4 or 6/8 etc.

Coord operates only on MIDI clips in Session view. Coord-controlled clips must be 4-, 8-, or 16-beat loops. Other clips including audio can coexist in either Session or Arrange view, butCoord will not analyze or manipulate them.

There must be exactly one bass MIDI clip and one lead MIDI clip under the control of Coord, each comprised of monophonic, quantized notes at up to 16th note resolution. Triplets or other non-duple time divisions, or expressive timing, are not yet supported. A Coord_track Max-for-Live device must be placed on each the bass track and the lead track.

Coord_auxiliary Max-for-Live devices are placed on other MIDI tracks that contain pitch content (non-drum tracks). These will be used to determine the key/scale for each scene, and also to enable recombination of clips. Here "recombination" means using combined auxiliary clips from different input scenes according to a generated "song-form" pattern (such as AABA, ABAACABA, etc).

Coord controls the firing of scenes and clips during playback.Yes, this is a serious constraint. Returning control to the user is a high-priority design issue and an open avenue for user feedback.

START-UP

Open a Live set in Coord-example Project.

Launch Coord.app.

QUICK GUIDE

Hit the "Random scenes" button as shown below.

It will take a few seconds for the Live scenes to load. You should then see three pairs of bass/lead icons.

Alternatively, select individual Live scenes in Live as an input via "Assign" button A, B, or B. For each scene assignment you'll see a bass icon and lead icon. You can assign up to three scenes.

Drag the cursor and/or the part icons around to control the generated notes. Only the bass and lead parts are generated; other parts are played as-is in the Live set (with optional remixing of other parts, controlled by the "Recombine" button - see below).

By default the bass/lead pair from each scene are grouped together. But you can drag each icon (triangle) independently to shape the musical landscape. Distance from each icon to the mouse is what matters.

Follow your ear to find preferred variations by morphing between the input patterns. Coord does not try to make all results sound pleasing. Instead it splices generative relationships across metrical levels and lets the chips fall where they may. It is up to the user to steer toward what they like and away from what they don't. Some combinations of input MIDI clips provide rich possibilities, other combinations less so.

If "Recombine" is ON, then Coord will trigger auxiliary MIDI clips from each input scene according to a generated pattern.

If "Recombine" is OFF, then Coord will simply repeatedly trigger the first input scene (A, or B if A is not assigned, etc).

MAX-FOR-LIVE DEVICES

The Coord_Global device has a "MIDI Thru" button. This allows you to hear the original input Live scenes, bypassing Coord entirely.

Clips on tracks controlled by a Coord_Track device (where the morphing occurs) should be monophonic, such as lead or bass lines. Clips should loop at 4, 8, or 16 beats (within a song with binary meter such as 2/4 or 4/4). There must be exactly one Coord_Track device on a bass track, and one on a lead track.

Clips on tracks controlled by a Coord_Auxiliarydevice (where the recombination occurs) may be polyphonic.

There is no other need for direct use of the Max-for-Live device GUI's. They only provide communication; all music analysis/generation is within (the Mac app) Coord.

PREFERENCES

These are largely for test purposes now; their use is not recommended except for changing loop length from two bars to four bars (from 32 to 64 sixteenths).

TIMING NOTE

Timing issues related to the Max-for-Live devices can occasionally cause the tonality to be misread - if you hear particularly strange dissonance, this is probably why - try hitting the assign button(s) again in that case.